This as-told-to essay is based on a conversation with Ingrid Brown, a professional truck driver and operations manager at Blackjack Express LLC. It has been edited for length and clarity.
When I first started truck driving, I only had a CB radio.
There was no telephone, no communications, and no technology for anybody to know where I parked at night.
Especially as a woman, I thought about things like whether I was parked in a safe place. If I didn’t move my truck in the morning, how is somebody going to know whether something’s happened to me?
Now, AI and other technology can tell me if there’s a deer in front of me. It can tell me if one of my drivers is dozing off or daydreaming. It can remind me to pay attention to the road.
Technology has gotten to a point where I’m accepting of it. It can help prevent what could go wrong next.
Autonomous trucks are different. I’m open to the conversation. But until it can prove to me that there will not be any type of loss of life, I’m going to sit back and watch it.
Truck drivers were their own patrol
I’m from Boone, North Carolina, and started driving trucks in 1979.
My first truck was a ’79 Diamond Reo. Once I got a taste of going to different places and experiencing different cultures, I fell in love with 80,000 pounds of iron. My haul has included cows, steel, produce, and dynamite. The last time I counted, I had 5.7 million safe driving miles.
Back then, safety really depended on the person behind the wheel. It depended on how well you did pre-trips or safety inspections before you hit the road. It depended on how well you chose to drive, how well you understood the hours you should be running, and how many hours you actually physically can run to keep everything safe. You were your own patrol. You were your own self-discipline.
Of course, we had rules. For example, we followed designated hours of service. But that was partly on you. You logged your hours on paper. I can tell you that back then, I may have rewritten the life of a day.
We only had each other to rely on. That’s how we learned this business. There was no technology to say it.
The phone changed my whole world of safety
The first piece of technology that really changed my job was the phone.
It was a connection to me. I would call to get directions. I would call to see if my appointment time was good.
If something went bad, that phone was there for me to call and say, “Hey, I’ve got this load on me. I’m in traffic. I’m going to be 30 minutes late.” And the time saved was unreal.
I’m all about adapting. I was never a computer girl because I’m a ’61 baby, but I wasn’t letting myself fall behind.
My first resistance to technology was with Motive, a fleet technology company, back when it was still KeepTruckin. The company provides electronic logs, tracking, maintenance, driver coaching, and AI-powered dashcam systems.
At the time, I didn’t want to be monitored. Nobody needs to know when I stopped to go to the bathroom. I didn’t want someone telling me how to do my job.
Later on, I found it to be a good helpmate. It took a lot off me. For example, I didn’t have to sit up during my breaks to do paperwork.
The camera system also protects drivers when things happen because it tells the true story.
That’s the kind of technology I look for. I don’t just want to know what went wrong before. I want something that’s going to prevent something from going wrong next.
I’m still watching autonomous trucks
I’ve worked with some autonomous trucking companies because they’ve come to me as a sounding board to ask questions.
I have some questions too, before I can give my full opinion on autonomous trucks.
I’ll say that there’s a lot of unpredictability that truck drivers are accustomed to.
I can see a car half a mile or a mile in front of me, and I can watch it and predict what it might do. If he turns left, I’m going to slow down prior to that. If he turns right, I can move left way ahead of time.
I haven’t been shown yet that an autonomous truck can do that before a situation is already in motion.
But I want to learn more. My experience with other technology made me realize I need to quit being closed-minded because I could be missing a lot.
In a world where autonomous trucking is validated, I could see them handling local hauls or short-run jobs. As far as the long hauls, I’ll gladly stay behind them.
Also, I’ve been a trucker for almost 47 years. I’ve got employees who drive the trucks I run, and I still drive myself.
I wouldn’t want to see people who have lived their lives and are giving their lives to the trucking industry go without a paycheck because somebody created something they think is bigger and better.
This is where I’m talking about the empathy, the thought, the concern, and the care. Why would you want to take people’s jobs away from them?
Truckers don’t need to go anywhere. They need the tools and the help, along with what they already have within themselves, to make sure every single person around them is as safe as they are.
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